


Behind the Mask

by angelranger



Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Brief description of violence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, a damsel but not in distress, brief description of blood/gore, the dark scooby doo au nobody asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:49:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27181358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelranger/pseuds/angelranger
Summary: “I can’t see!”“Who cut the lights?!”“Dinah? Dinah!”//or the one where the Birds of Prey are kind of actually Mystey Inc.
Relationships: Helena Bertinelli & Dinah Lance & Renee Montoya & Harleen Quinzel, Helena Bertinelli/Dinah Lance
Kudos: 28





	Behind the Mask

**Author's Note:**

> Additional Warnings:   
> Canon typical gore, i.e. Mentions of blood and dismembered body parts (hands and face)

_ “I can’t see!” _

_ “Who cut the lights?!” _

_ “Dinah? Dinah!” _

*

Dinah came to with a groan, the ground cold and damp against her cheek, though the chill helped to soothe the ache there, if only slightly. She didn’t need to be psychic to guess what had happened and where she was. With a wince, she lifted her upper body off of the ground, her hand immediately going to her bruised ribs that screamed with every movement. Taking a sharp intake of breath, she opened her eyes and confirmed her suspicions. 

The room was dark and dingy, reeking of mould and copper, and there was the faint sound of water dripping somewhere in the room. She wasn’t able to see further than a few centimetres in front of her face. There were no windows as far as she could tell, the darkness not caused by the notoriously pitch black Gotham sky, but a lack of any kind of light source. With a roll of her eyes, Dinah wished just once the bad guys would have one ounce of flair for where they held their captives, because really? A dank pseudo dungeon that was really someone’s old basement? She was worth more than that.

Using the wall behind her, Dinah slowly lifted her aching body onto her feet and reached for the lighter she kept in her bra. The flame flickered but held enough for her to investigate a little bit of her surroundings, allowing her a few more centimetres of visibility. Just as she suspected there were no windows and not a single light fixture or switch was in sight. 

Spinning around, Dinah’s shoulder collided with something solid and a grating screech echoed throughout the concrete room causing the Canary’s senses to go on high alert. Pausing to see if whatever she had collided with would come after her. When nothing jumped out of the darkness, Dinah held her lighter in front of her and saw the back of something, or rather some _ one.  _ Inching closer, Dinah nudged the thing with her foot and watched with a grim expression as a human spun around in front of her, dangling on a hook from rusted chains like a pig in a butcher shop. Whoever it was had no face, having obviously been skinned, and their hands were missing. There was a pool of blood beneath them, with droplets still falling from the wrist stubs, meaning it hadn’t been water she’d initially heard and that this was recent.

_ How long had she been out?  _ Dinah began to ask herself but stilled as she heard a shuffling in the corner, a shiver of unease coursing its way down her spine.

She wasn’t alone.

*

Renee sat back in her reclined seat, a cup of lukewarm coffee in one hand and a small radio scanner in the other. She was doing her best to ignore the bundle of anxious energy pacing a hole into the floor of their small HQ and instead put her efforts into listening for any disturbances or sightings of Dinah over the radio. She flinched slightly as she moved to set her coffee down and get up from her seated position, aggravating the stab wound in her thigh. She needed to go and change the dressing, Helena not even noticing her leave the room as she headed for the small infirmary they had.

While cleaning and redressing the injury, Renee thought about where they had gone wrong this evening. They’d been ambushed while investigating a lead into the identity of the  _ Black Mask _ . He’s been terrorising the working classes of Gotham for a little under a year and they had next to no leads into who he was, who was working for him, or who he was working  _ for _ . Suffice to say, Renee was beyond frustrated and tonight the one lead they’d had in months had wound up with Dinah missing and Renee stabbed.

The only concrete facts they knew about him is that he preyed on the weak and vulnerable, offering them money and reprieve and protection, only to turn on them when they couldn’t pay him back or refused to do his bidding. When their debt couldn’t be collected financially, the Black Mask had other creative ways of claiming back what was his. The body count of faceless individuals was nearing triple digits, not including those who had survived at the cost of their hands. Those people had flat out refused to cooperate with the investigation in any way, and Renee knew they were fearful for theirs and their families’ lives, but it didn’t make it any less frustrating.

When she’d started her own PI business after leaving the force, this is not what she had ever dreamt of investigating and she was scared to admit that this one time they were quite possibly in over their heads. But they’d chase leads, regardless, they weren’t a team of quitters.

Their most recent lead had been in the form of notorious criminal Victor Zsasz, though every time he had been put behind bars he either got bailed out or the charges were suddenly dropped. He had connections, powerful ones, and Renee had suspected one of those connections to be that of the Black Mask, something Harley had later confirmed when she got an old  _ acquaintance _ to spill the details lest his balls be fed to Bruce. It had led them to an abandoned warehouse by the docks, which was suspicious in itself but Renee was desperate for a breakthrough.

It had been a trap. Because of course it was, and now they were down one person, another was in panic mode, she herself was injured, and Harley had gone to pay her  _ acquaintance  _ a visit.

Bruce was getting fed, that’s for sure.

Renee limped back into the main room, sighing when she noticed that Helena had not stopped her pacing. She’d been wearing a hole in the carpet since they got back from the failed mission. They had a method, a seemingly clear cut one that was tried and true from their many adventures: Renee would check the perimeter, Harley would make her way up to the roof and get in through a skylight or a ventilation system and work her way down, and Dinah would wait for a clear signal from Helena who would be situated at a vantage point a ways away before entering the location from the ground. It had worked every time they did it, running smoothly like a well oiled machine. 

Until it didn’t.

*

“Am I clear to go yet, babe?” Dinah called though her comms with a teasing lilt to her voice, waiting by the side entrance for the all clear from Helena. There was a stuttered  _ ‘wait a minute’  _ on the line before a disgruntled Montoya called through.

“You two know you aren’t the only ones on the line, right?” Dinah rolled her eyes, knowing that as much as Montoya complained and griped at them, she had no real issue with what was happening so long as it didn’t interfere with their operation. She and Helena were “dating”, a tentative label for what was happening between them. They’d been sleeping together for months, Dinah coming to understand why the moniker  _ Huntress  _ fit her so well, until they both reached a mutual understanding that there was something  _ more  _ between them. But they hadn't exactly had the time to discuss their relationship with their ongoing investigation into the Black Mask.

“Aw, leave them be ya grump.” Came Harley’s muffled voice over the line, surprisingly joyus given the situation. It was an odd situation Dinah found herself in, working with a former cop, an assassin, and a reformed(?) criminal. Harley still had her ways that Montoya turned a blind eye to for the sake of maintaining the peace within  _ Mystery Inc.  _ as Harley’s protege, Cass, had dubbed them. It had stuck, much to everyone but Harley’s chagrin.

“Montoya, what’s your status?” Came Helena’s voice through the comms, receiving a swift  _ ‘clear’  _ before she was giving Dinah the go ahead to enter the building, mirrored by Montoya on the other side. 

It took no time at all for everything to go to shit. A trap had been set up and they’d waltzed right into it.

They quickly lost communication with Harley, the last thing heard on her end being a grunt, a thud, and a string of expletives that was sure to make a nun faint. The lights kept flickering on and off, making Dinah feel like she was at some shoddy rave, but was effective enough in obscuring her vision. She could hear Montoya having a struggle somewhere near her before the ex-officer cried out in pain.

“Montoya?!” She called out, trying to find her partner. She could hear Helena panting over the comms, running into the fray to try and help. It was then the lights cut out, leaving the warehouse in utter darkness. Dinah spun on the spot, her senses going haywire hoping to be able to see  _ anything  _ but the night was overcast so there was no moonlight to help.

“I can’t see!” She yelled, hoping to get a grasp on where Montoya and Helena were, losing hope that they’d safely make their way out of this situation and  _ where was Harley? _

“Who cut out the lights?!” She heard Montoya yell, only a tinge of panic peeking through her annoyance at being caught off guard. Dinah was on the cusp of making a sarcastic remark in retaliation when she felt something solid crashing into her and taking her to the ground. Her skull practically bounced off of the floor from the force and she let out a pained groan.

“Dinah?” She heard someone call out to her, but her head was too fuzzy to even process it, she barely felt herself being dragged away before she blacked out.

_ “Dinah!” _

*

Dinah took a step back, inching closer to the wall behind her so she could not be snuck up from behind, though literally backing herself into a corner which wasn’t much better. She heard a deep, sinister chuckle coming from the other end of the room, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in apprehension. Squaring her shoulders. Dinah stood as tall as her bruised body would allow her.

“Who’s there?” She asked, thanking her resolve that her voice didn’t waver.

“I think you know who I am.” Came a slightly muffled voice and Dinah narrowed her eyes, the voice familiar to her but she couldn’t quite place it. Lifting her lighter, she caught sight of a dark figure creeping toward her, their face obscured by a black mask. Suddenly, the room filled with light, causing the Canary to shield her eyes at the intrusion. When she was able to open them up again she was face to face with the very person she and her team had been trying to track. 

The Black Mask stood right in front of her, unarmed and with a relaxed posture, as if he were talking to an old friend. It put Dinah more on edge than she already had been.

“Black Mask.” Dinah addressed him, not even attempting to keep the disdain out of her voice, in response he bowed with a flourish, lowering his head and waving his arm in front of him. Dinah took his moment of distraction to reach up and switch on her comms, praying to a God that she didn’t believe in that they still worked and that she hadn’t been taken outside of Gotham’s range.

When she heard them crackle to life and fill with Helena’s worried voice, she tried to keep the relief out of her expression as she once again came face to face with the Black Mask.

“The one and only.” He said with, if Dinah wasn’t mistaken,  _ delight.  _ Rolling her eyes, Dinah crossed her arms and took a challenging step forward, smirking lightly when it appeared Black Mask faltered ever so slightly.

“What do you want, Mask?”

“My, my, you’re one feisty damsel, aren’t you?” His tone was mocking and it only served to aggravate Dinah further.

“I may be a damsel, but I am  _ not  _ in distress.” She sneered, springing forward and pushing Black Mask off balance enough to sweep him face first to the ground. Kneeling down she quickly grabbed his hands, twisting them behind his back and keeling next to his prone form.

“I’ll ask again:  _ what do you want?”  _ She demanded, twisting his arms further, causing him to let out a reluctant grunt at the pain.

“You’ll regret doing that.” He threatened between gritted teeth and before Dinah could comprehend what was happening, there was the sound of a canister dispersing and everything faded to black.

*

A million and one thoughts had been racing through Helena’s mind since they had returned from the warehouse; none of them good and all of them concerning Dinah’s wellbeing.

Helena’s pacing only halted when Harley waltzed into the room, egg sandwich in hand and a self-satisfied smirk on her face. She walked Bruce over to the oversized dog bed they kept, giving him half of the sandwich before skipping over to where Helena stood. Helena grimaced as she noticed the matching blood splotches all over Bruce and Harley, her stomach turning as she noticed the red tint to the fur surrounding the hyena’s mouth.

“Do I even want to know?” She asks, eyeing Harley from the corner of her eye. Harley just rocked onto the balls of her feet, clasping her hands together with a wicked grin.

“Nope.” Montoya rolls her eyes at the interaction before straightening in her chair, her attention immediately drawn to her radio as it begins to crackle. Helena snatches the radio from the detective’s grasp before the latter can even comprehend what’s happening.

“Dinah? Dinah, are you there?” There’s no response and Helena can feel her heart plummet at the idea that this is a glitch in their system; that they’re too late. The thought causes her to freeze in place.

_ “What do you want, Mask?”  _ Sounds over the comms and every person in the room feels a mixture of relief at knowing that Dinah is still alive at least, and a deepening dread at knowing that she’s been captured by Black Mask and that she may only be alive for now.

“Helena, get the tracker.” Montoya orders, snapping Helena out of her trance as she heads over to where they keep all of their gadgets, briefly hearing something about  _ damsels  _ over the radio and she chuckles to herself at the idea of anyone thinking Black Canary was any kind of damsel in distress.

The tracker whirs to life just as there seems to be a commotion on the other end of the radio.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’’mon.” She murmurs to herself, watching the blinking dot on the GPS fly all over Gotham trying to pick up the signal before they inevitably lose it, if the pained grunts sounding through the room are anything to go by. She hears a whooshing noise before a loud thud, quickly followed by a high pitched wail signalling their connection had been severed. Harley had her hands to her ears as Montoya worked to shut down the radio, Helena only spared them a glance before turning her head back down to the tracker, eyes widening.

“They’re downtown!” She yells, not even waiting to see if the other two are following before she heads towards their van, starting the engine and getting into gear as her partners clamber into their seats. Montoya has picked up some firearms and Helena’s crossbow.

“What’s a Huntress without her crossbow, ah?” Montoya jibes. Helena rolls her eyes and puts her foot down, tires screeching as they speed out of the garage.

“Woo, roadtrip!” Harley yells, sticking her head out of the window.

*

When Dinah comes to next, her body feels heavy and sluggish. It takes an absurd amount of effort for her to lift her head, only to see that her arms have been chained above her head, though they have more rust than chain.

“Motherfucker.” She whispers into the dark room, rolling her eyes at the predicament she has found herself in, though, not for the first time. Dropping her chin to her chest, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she tries to gather her bearings. Whatever noxious gas they hit her with was a doozy, but not the worst she’s been dealt.

Opening her eyes again, Dinah notices that her feet have not been chained to anything and she fights a smirk at the rookie mistake as she formulates a plan in her mind.  _ Fucking amateurs. _

It’s not long before she feels another presence in the room, watching. Waiting. But so is Dinah.

“What was it you said about not being in distress?” She can practically taste the smugness coming off of Black Mask in waves. Dinah chuckles to herself, barely able to stop herself from breaking into all out laughter as she lifts her gaze.

“Do I look like I’m in distress to you?” She snarks, taking great pleasure in the slight uncertain shuffle of the Black Mask’s shoes. He takes a step towards her, making sure the knife he carries in his hand glimmers in the redlight he has switched on during her bout of being unconscious. Dinah just raises her chin, looking down at him as if he were the dirt at the bottom of her shoe. Which, in Dinah’s opinion, is still holding him in too high regard.

Even Bruce’s crap, the hyena, but probably the Man Bat’s too, had more of Dinah's respect than the man in front of her.

“Let’s see if we can change that, shall we?” Dinah’s eyes widen as Black Mask just lunges for her and she barely has enough time to dodge the attack before the knife knicks her arm, causing her to wince. 

As the Mask crashes into the wall behind her, unable to stop his momentum, Dinah wraps her hands around the chains above her head for some leverage as she kicks herself up, swinging her legs into Black Mask’s back, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to drop his weapon. 

Using her limited window, Dinah hoists herself so she’s hanging upside down and kicks at the ceiling in an attempt to break the fragile chains holding her. It takes a few strong kicks before Dinah is freed from her chains and plummets to the ground.

“That could have gone better.” She huffs, reaching for the abandoned knife and struggling to her feet as her opponent does the same thing. She watches as he pats himself down, brushing away specks of dust as he investigates the ground.

“Looking for this?” She taunts, waving his own knife in front of him with a smirk. She watches as he takes a step back, raising his hands in front of him in defense. Dinah wastes no time in making her counter attack, fainting a swing with her knife hand and landing a left hook that sends him to the ground.

“Who’s the damsel in distress now?” She jeers, punctuating the end of the sentence with a kick to Back Mask’s ribs. Just as she’s about to go in for another kick the door to the room bursts open and Dinah turns to see the rest of her team burst into the room. She’s immediately swept up in an embrace from Helena as Montoya goes to handcuff the prone form on the floor, roughly dragging him to his feet.

“Took you long enough.” Dinah teases, pressing a kiss to Helena’s lips as they turn to face the detective, arms wrapped tightly around each other.

“Let’s see who’s behind the mask, ah!” Harley announces, harshly removing the mask, frowning as the face is revealed. “Roman Sionis?” She groans, rolling her eyes as she drops the mask to the ground and stomps on it. “What a bore, I was hopin’ for Clark Kent.”

“Who?” Helena asks, brows furrowed as she processes Harley’s words. The blonde just rolls her eyes and leaves the room without another word. Dinah merely shrugs when all eyes fall on her, stepping forward and giving Sionis two condescending pats on the cheek.

“C’mon  _ damsel _ , let’s take you to a nice and comfy cell.”

**Author's Note:**

> the fic to match this moodboard: https://angel-ranger.tumblr.com/post/614068205015662592/gotham-mystery-inc-birds-of-prey-scooby-doo


End file.
